The Effect of Layer-by-Layer Chitosan-Hyaluronic Acid Coating on Graft-to-Bone Healing of a Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) Artificial Ligament.

Surface coating with an organic layer-by-layer self-assembled template of chitosan and hyaluronic acid on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) artificial ligament was designed for the promotion and enhancement of graft-to-bone healing after artificial ligament implantation in a bone tunnel. The results of in vitro culturing of MC3T3-E1 mouse osteoblastic cells supported the hypothesis that the layer-by-layer coating of chitosan and hyaluronic acid could promote the cell compatibility of grafts and could promote osteoblast proliferation. A rabbit extra-articular tendon-to-bone healing model was used to evaluate the effect of this kind of surface-modified stainless artificial ligament in vivo. The final results proved that this organic compound coating could significantly promote and enhance new bone formation at the graft-bone interface histologically and, correspondingly, the experimental group with coating had significantly higher biomechanical properties compared with controls at 8 weeks (P < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]